But aren't we postmodern types obsessed with the oppressive use of language, of which grammar is an authoritative underbelly? Well, sure, we are a bit focused on language, sometimes at the expense of our interest in reality, and you don't have to be a reader of Orwell to know that language can be used quite effectively as a tool of oppression. Any politician knows that, and they are not the most philosophical bunch. Sorry, Plato, but it's true.

Postmodern though I am, I am quite serious about the study of grammar, for grammar is the structure by which we understand reality. And the man who taught me that abhorred deconstruction and all things postmodern. He's a classical Aristotelian, a realist in no uncertain terms.

Why is the study of grammar so important? It is because the rules of grammar, if not absolute and eternal, are nevertheless based upon the framework of reality--at least in so far as we understand reality. To be correct grammatically does not necessitate flawless understanding of reality, but real ignorance of and errors in grammar (not simply careless typos) will affect our understanding of reality. Grammar errors can mean errors in understanding.

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You may be interested in a book called "The War against Grammar." I haven't yet read it, but a friend (a Latin teacher) thought it very worthwhile. The author discovered in his research that not only was grammar being ignored in schools, there was an open crusade against it.

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